Childeeen took a drink from the glass, water, not the liquid screams he found necessary during long uneventful space flight. War was a drug, intense fear, anger, sadness, and in victory Joy and happiness. Existence ratcheted up to the maximum extent but his curse didn't let him savor in it. The victory festival was in full swing when he addressed the group, those like him who stayed near the front sat where they pleased the others where present via holo-projections.

Did we win?

Honestly is this going to make the rebuilding easier for any of us? There are new constellations in the sky, and its the gleaming engines of warships, now the Iron Republic has an interest in this place. It could have gone on to become a moderately prosperous colony. The people finding happiness where they will, now we get to await the TRILAT counterattack.

Scans show something big and techno-organic in Druzi II, guess what when it hatches it will bear down on us like an oncoming train. Top it off I'm pretty sure TRILAT fleets will gather to smash the token one good ol' Republic Iron sent.

Administrator Stewart what are the chances of untrained labor relocating and being able to have the opportunity they could have had here?

Su Maehl managed to escape Druzi II before his position was bombed. What the hell was that?, thought Su as his freigher made its way out of the ensuing battle.

His holocom (holographic communicator) was going off. He didn't know if he wanted to pick it up or not.

"This is Su""Mr. Maehl, it's your PDO. We have successfully undergone primary evacuations, per Blackheart's orders. People were first shuttled to Casablanca Station, and are being routed when possible to Esirohs 6 and 7. As you requested, those planets have refugee camps. Those who wish to stay will be granted transfers. Others will be granted temporary housing until they either want to leave or it is considered safe to return." His PDO looked pale and tired. Things on the ground were not so good, he can tell."You've done well. I shall not be returning to Druzi Prime. I have other business matters to attend to. See when and if we can resume operations and trade.""It doesn't look good, sir. I will do my best." He almost looked like he wanted to cry. Su was right in promoting this man to PDO. He has his emotions but he is doing what he must. A good trait to have in someone running planetary operations.

He sighed, tried to smile and said, "Keep me posted. Su out." He ended communication. Su sighed again as he tried hard not to smash his holocom against the table. How did this go to hell?!? He was *so* close to pulling off a deal.

---A few days later, after all sides declared victory, as they always do, he found out that Maehl Holdings was honored by becoming a member of the Cabinet Advisory Board of Druzi Prime. Great, he thought, now we're even *more* responsible for the outcome of this planet. Some reward! The Trilat are everywhere, even on the planet's surface, the Iron Republic is coming down hard (whatever that means, he thought sarcastically), and Blackheart just declared regular trade operations dead in Druzi. So many things going on and one singular outcome: his operations are fucked.

Su ponders these events from his office on Esiroh 6, wondering what his next steps are. He reviews what he knows:1) The Kasanthians did not order an attack2) The IR shot first, even though they said they wouldn't3) Reports, both official and unofficial, do show an attack on the IR from somewhere4) Nobody in the Trilat appeared to have ordered the attack5) There's a random mail shuttle in the battlespace that delivered parcels, or gifts. Nobody appears to know who or what sent them6) The IR is milking the "unknown Kasanthian weapons" thing for all it's worth7) The Trilat want to control the Wormhole, to the point of buying Druzi Prime and it's moon The IR doesn't care as much for Druzi Prime as it wants to thwart the Trilat

A thought flashes across his eyes as he reads a message from the Temporal Empire. "Wormholes! This entire issue is caused by that blasted wormhole," he exclaimed to himself. His allies in the Free Systems want the wormhole closed, which in turn would end this blasted warzone over Druzi Prime. He, of course, can't actually figure out a solution to that problem.

Excited, Su gets up from his desk and walks over to his wardrobe. He gathers his things, calls his secretary and advises her he is going on a trip. He may not have any answers to the wormhole problem, but there are still options. Plus, he has meetings to arrange, a business deal to finalize with the Kasanthians that might allow trade through Druzi, a Unity proposal to enact, and an intergalactic corporation to run. Problems always have solutions, Su thought to himself as he walked over to his shuttle transport.

He turns his holocom on and advises Blackheart that he will be arranging a meeting with EEF representatives to fulfil his defense needs. He then prepares a call to Terranova for a conversation regarding research possibilities, and then ponders how, if at all, he can assist his Free Systems allies without completely bungling his business dealings with the Trilat.

blackheartsecurity wrote:Administrator Stewart what are the chances of untrained labor relocating and being able to have the opportunity they could have had here?

Director Blackheart,That should be very simple to do. Not only do we have places for them but we can fundamentally train them. We can teach the poor miners to be something a bit more than what the Iron Republic would have had of them.

I have seen scans of Druzi 2. There is more than just that giant worm thing. I suspect that we will need to make preperations for more than just untrained labor soon enough.

I am not stunned that the Iron Republic did what they did. They werent so much protecting a city as making sure there enemies did not have a foothold so near the anomoly. They would hit the flea with the hammer as that is the most effective method, or at least the one they know the best. Perhaps there are greener pastures that we can get support from?

Let me know what you need Childeen. You know you have my support.

Su Maehl, be cautious in dealing with the Trilat. Their concept of fine print is somewhat more subjective than ours. Just a humble opinion from an old trader.

Stewart,Once we clear the Vampires out I want to get as many people off planet as possible. A lot of them prolly won't want to return. Those that volunteer to stay are going to be defense forces.

First we need to clear out this damn infestation. There is a very good chance the IR will attempt to fortify and basically run the colony. If that happens it would be in both ours and the IR's best interest to have minimal collateral.

"Howmanydoyouthinkwecanhandle?" Without waiting for a reply the man continued "Thisissoexciting! DidyouseewhathappenedwhenIshotthatnightmareinthehead? POP! Idon't thinkanyonesawmetakesamplesfromallofthenighmares, oratleastIhopenot."

Luckily for both the man and for Gaia, AI's could take in information faster than even this Earther could speak so his conversations with her always flowed without pause.

"Sir, I believe that you had your armor activated when you took the samples so your secret should be safe. What concerns me more is the workload that you are signing us up for. Even with the considerable resources at our disposal we cannot let Terra Nova Industries reputation falter. Please remember Sir, that we do have personal and corporate goals to achieve beyond those of simple exploration and design."

"Yeah... I guess you're right. I just getso excitedandmymindstartswhirlingandbeforeIknowitI'mcaughtupinwork!"

If Gaia had been any but the most patient of sentient beings she would have become frustrated with Terra Nova Industries owner a long time ago. Luckily, for both her and her owner her programming allowed for his eccentricities and odd sense of humor.

"Sir, to bring you back to the previous agenda, what are our plans regarding Druzi Prime, the TRILAT agents and bio-mechanical entities that were placed under the city?"

Gaias' owner paused for moment. "Hmmmm... Well, we signed a contract with Fire Dome City so we're there until everything's cleaned up or unmanageable. That said we'll move the geothermal research onto the back burner since there's no telling how long it'll be until the area is safe enough to continue. Right now though we need to figure out someway tohelp Firedomecityprotectitselffromthoseworms. I'vebeenthinkingaboutitandifwecanlayhandsonenoughhoveremittersImightbeabletorigupasubterrainmagneticshield."

"A subterrain magnetic shield?" Gaia asked as she ran through the vast databases and networks she was connected to. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm not finding any previous data that would support using hover emitters that way."

"I am sure that it will work just as you plan it to Sir. One last thing, have you given any thought to hiring on more help?"

"Gaia, while I do think that another head and 2 or 3 sets of hands are needed around here I don't think that W or any of the other BFFers will come out here and do corporate work. We need to find someone trustworthy, smart and completely motivated by knowledge instead of money."

Gaia sat in the dark, running multiple data searches, modelling programs and encryption algorithms while mulling over her conversation with her own. Who could Terra Nova Industries trust enough to be brought into its inner circle? More importantly, who would be willing to trust her owner?